A/N: Sorry this is so late…I've been busy and crazy and…gwar…. Anwyays, hopefully the next chap won't be too far in the future.

Orange Crush #2

Saturday was spent in pajamas, watching cartoons, and reading books. Sunday was designated to be shopping day.

They both looked completely miserable as they followed Rory around the crowded mall.

Jess hated malls, and, in his mind, had taught Dan well, since the little boy hated them, too. They did most of their clothes shopping at thrift stores, rock concerts and army surpluses. It must have been something in the genetics, because both Jess's uncle and father hated malls as well. "Urban sprawl!" Luke would shout. "Evil teeny-boppers!" Jimmy would complain.

Dan hated the crowds, mostly. He knew very well that he was not very tall (especially since Dean had taken to calling him "Shorty"), and he was worried that he might get run over. He clung to Jess's hand tightly, and tried to stay out of everyone's way.

Jess sighed. "What are we doing here again?"

"Looking for nice clothes for Dan to wear to my grandparents' house," Rory replied as she led them into the Lord and Taylor.

Dan developed a worried expression. "What's wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing," Rory replied quickly. "They're just not dressy enough to wear to dinner."

"I wanna wear my Bob Dylan shirt!"

Rory blinked and turned to Jess, looking confused.

Jess rolled his eyes. "Blame my mother."

Rory stifled a laugh and lifted Dan into her arms as they walked to the children's department. "How about a nice sweater?"

Dan wrinkled his nose.

Rory frowned. "A dress shirt?"

"Ew," the little boy complained.

She sighed. "Dan…"

"Don't blame him, it's my fault," Jess admitted. "I never taught him the meaning of dressing nice."

"He's never had to dress up?" Rory asked.

Jess shook his head.

"I don't wanna dress up," Dan said. "I want orange soda."

Rory shook her head and turned to Jess. "You're right. It's your fault."

Jess sighed. "Dan, come on. It's just a sweater."

Dan pouted.

Jess glared. "Don't do that."

"I don't wanna sweater," Dan said quietly. "They're itchy."

"You can wear a shirt underneath," Jess promised.

"Can I have a black sweater?" Dan asked hopefully.

Rory smiled.

oooooo

"Shoes!"

"Shoes?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded.

"He's five, he can wear his chucks."

Rory sighed.

"Rory… the sweater was fifty bucks," Jess complained. "I'm not spending another fifty on shoes."

"Pants?"

"He has slacks," Jess said.

"Nice ones?" Rory asked.

"Nice enough," Jess replied.

"Fine," Rory replied, reaching up to kiss him.

"Aren't you afraid of cooties?" Dan asked, wrinkling his nose at them.

Jess pulled away from Rory and wrapped an arm around her. "I got a cootie shot."

"Can I get one?"

"When you're older," Jess replied. "Ready to get outta this dump?"

Dan sighed. "I'm hungry," he announced.

"Oh!" Rory smiled. "Food court!"

"Food what?" Dan asked.

She blinked and turned to Jess. "Has he ever even been inside a mall?"

Jess shook his head. "Nope."

Rory gasped and lifted Dan up to cuddle him. "You poor baby! You've never been to a food court!"

Jess sighed.

"Please, Jess?" Rory pleaded. "Please can we go to the food court?"

"Please, Dad?" Dan joined in.

Jess shook his head. "Fine. Fine. Let's go."

"Yay!" Rory cried. She set Dan down and he ran ahead a little.

"Don't get lost, please!" Jess called after him. He sighed and glanced at Rory. "You know, you get more like your mother every day."

"Thank you," Rory beamed.

"Rory?!" Dan called from ahead.

The two adults sped up to join him. "What's up?" Rory asked.

"I don't know where the food court is!" he cried, a little distraught.

Rory snickered and took his hand, pointing in the other direction. "This way."

"Okay!" Dan cried, leading her.

Jess smirked and shook his head, following close behind.

ooooooo

Dan looked around the food court in complete awe.

He wanted to eat everything there.

"What'll it be?" Jess asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Dan looked around again and smiled. "Everything!"

Rory cracked a smile. "You got it!" She lifted Dan into her arms and marched off to get one item from each place in the food court.

Jess sighed, annoyed. "Jeez, no! He'll puke!"

"Will not!" Dan argued. "I can eat everything in the whole world!"

"Yeah, and then puke it all up in your bed," Jess snapped. "And then I'll have to clean the sheets, the floor, the clothes, and you."

Rory snickered. "Dan, how about some Chinese."

"Can I have McDonald's too?"

"No," Jess replied.

"Pizza?" Dan asked.

"No," Jess repeated. "One kind of food."

"You're no fun," Rory pouted.

Jess glared. "Would you like to clean up barf?"

Rory frowned. "How about we just stick with pizza?"

"But what about the Chinese?" Dan whined.

"We'll have it tomorrow," Rory promised.

Dan sighed. "Okay."

Jess shook his head and followed them to the pizza section.

oooooooo

Rory frowned as she glanced into Jess's refrigerator that evening after they'd gotten home. "Jess, didn't you go shopping?"

He sighed and leaned against the counter. "Knew I forgot to do something this week." He leaned over her to glance into the fridge. "What do we got?"

"Eggs, milk, a little cheese, syrup, and apples," Rory listed. "Along with some salad dressing."

"Huh." Jess got up and turned toward the small living room. "Dan!"

"Yeah?"

"You want breakfast for dinner?"

"Yeah!"

Rory blinked and got up. "What?"

"Eggs, milk, cheese, apples, and syrup. Plus the Bisquick in the cabinet, and the golden grams. We've got dinner."

"We could order out, you know," Rory snickered.

Jess shook his head, and began to gather the few items he needed. "This is better."

Dan rushed in and climbed up onto a counter. "Can I help?"

"Sure," Jess replied. He handed Dan an egg and held a metal bowl out. "Crack that egg into this bowl."

Dan looked at the egg, giggled, and proceeded to smash it against his head, before dropping it into the bowl. It left a slimy glob on his forehead.

"Huh," Jess said slowly, looking into the bowl.

Rory snickered. "You asked for that," she pointed out.

Jess handed Dan another egg. "How about you do this one right?"

Dan nodded, and cracked the egg against the bowl, splitting the shell. He dropped the yolk, and then used the shells to cover his eyes.

"Scary," Jess remarked flatly. "You wanna see something scarier?"

"What?" Dan asked.

Jess jutted his crooked lip out, crossed his eyes, and snarled.

Dan giggled and hopped down from the counter. "MONSTER!"

Jess smirked and continued cooking.

ooooooo

"Okay," Rory said as she swallowed a bite of pancakes. "We should have a game plan for Friday."

Jess nodded. "Okay. I get off of work at two, and then I pick up Dan."

"I get out at four," Rory replied. "Maybe we should meet up in Stars Hollow and go over with Mom."

Jess nodded. "Leave the cars there, and drive over and back with them."

Rory smiled. "Exactly." She turned to Dan. "You promise to be nice to my grandparents?"

Dan nodded. "I promise. Will there be orange soda?"

"I don't think so, Dan," Rory replied.

He frowned.

"We'll pack you a thermos," Jess reassured the five-year-old.

Dan smiled suddenly. "Okay." He went back to eating.

"What if things don't go well?" Jess asked.

"Then we deal with it," Rory said solidly.

"What if your grandmother still hates me?"

"We'll deal."

Jess sat back. "What if she tries to slice my head off with a steak knife?"

"Jess," Rory admonished.

"That woman hates me," Jess replied.

"Well, I love you, so she'll just have to be a little more understanding," Rory smirked.

Jess smirked back at her, and they stayed silent, until Dan started choking on his eggs.

"Jeez," Jess muttered. He patted his son on the back, and Dan spit up the eggs.

"Sorry," Dan coughed.

Rory got up. "I'll get him some water." She poured a glassful, and just as she set it down in front of Dan, her cell phone rang. She picked it up and sighed. "Hello?"

"Hey, Kid,"

Rory smiled, and held up a "one minute" finger to Jess. She made her way into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Hey, Mom."

"How did Jess take the dinner news?" Lorelai asked.

"A little better than I expected," Rory replied. "He didn't hit anything. It's just going to be awkward…"

"It won't be that awkward, will it?" Lorelai asked. "It's been eight years."

"Jess slipped the other night and has a black eye," Rory told her.

"Oh, he's toast."

"Don't say that," Rory pleaded. "I mean…like you said, it's been eight years…"

"This is going to be bad, Rory, you know that."

"Dan's cute!" Rory cried. "He'll make up for the black eye."

"One can hope," Lorelai muttered.

"Not helping."

Lorelai sighed. "I'm sorry, Babe. I'm just worried about this. Emily and Jess…they don't…"

"They don't get along, I know," Rory finished. "But I love Jess, and Grandma's… She's my grandma. I want them to be nice to each other."

"I know," Lorelai said. "Just don't go in with high expectations."

Rory frowned. "Yeah."

"So, what are the plans for Friday, since I probably won't speak to you too much until then?" Lorelai asked.

"We're gonna drive to Stars Hollow, and drive to Harford with you," Rory replied.

"Sounds good," Lorelai said. "Tell Jess I said hi, and give Dan a kiss for me. I'll see you Friday."

"Love you, Mom."

"Love you, too, Sweets."

Rory sighed and hung up.

ooooooo

"Are you awake?"

Jess rolled onto his side and faced Rory in the darkness of his bedroom. "Hi."

She smiled. "Hi."

He reached over and wrapped an arm around her waist. "What's up?"

"Are you nervous?" she asked, sliding closer.

Jess shrugged. "A little. I'm mostly tired…since it's three in the morning."

"Sorry," Rory replied, biting her lip. "I'm nervous."

He nodded. "Understandable. We did get into a really dumb fight the last time."

"Yeah," Rory agreed. "And we'll have Mom there."

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Hm?"

Rory sighed. "Can you maybe ask Luke to come?"

Jess frowned. "Do you remember what happened the last time he ate dinner there?"

She frowned back.

"Christopher showed up to proclaim his everlasting love to Lorelai, and Luke broke up with her because he couldn't handle all of her relationship craziness."

"Like you're one to talk about relationship craziness," Rory accused playfully.

"Never said I was," Jess replied. "I was quoting straight from the plaid, bitter horse's mouth."

She pouted. "Please? For me?"

"It seems as if I'm doing a lot for you lately, Gilmore," Jess teased.

Rory grinned. "Who got Dan to sleep on time with no mishaps tonight?"

"Huh," Jess commented. "Point."

"Dad?"

Both Jess and Rory sat up as Dan came into view in the doorway.

"Hey," Jess said. "What's up?"

"I had a bad dream," he replied.

Rory smiled and scooted over to make room between her and Jess.

Dan smiled and took a running leap onto the bed. He then crawled over and climbed under the covers.

Rory lay back down and smiled sweetly at Jess.

Jess sighed and shook his head.

oooooo

"No, Jess."

He groaned as he sat back at his desk that Monday. "Come on, Luke. One night."

"Do you know what happened the last time I went to dinner there?" Luke growled.

"Yeah, I know," Jess replied. "It's just…Rory's nervous…and I'm not exactly comfortable with this. We could use the back-up."

Luke paused. "What does Lorelai have to say?"

"No idea," Jess said. "Rory asked me to ask you."

"This is a bad idea," Luke groaned.

Jess smirked. "That's a yes, right?"

Luke sighed.